Easter eggs forever

Saving them saves money and builds up memories.

Some Easter eggs over 30 years old are used as family keepsakes and on display… (APRIL BARTHOLOMEW, THE…)

March 30, 2013|Spencer Soper | On The Cheap

Four years ago we introduced you to Jennie Spinozzi in Nazareth, who has been collecting an impressive assortment of hard-boiled, dyed Easter eggs since 1982. We especially love her egg that looks like Elvis.

Jennie wrote us a couple of weeks ago and invited us to come by again. She's added more eggs to her collection that she wanted us to see. She still has the Elvis egg, too, and his hair is perfect.

"Every year I have my Easter eggs painted by the grandchildren and friends of theirs," Jennie said. "I always take a few and keep them to decorate around my house. I put their names on the eggs and the year. As I was decorating my house this year, I was so surprised to notice one egg 1982. Wow!"

Jennie started collecting the eggs 31 years ago because she didn't want to throw them away. She put them in a cardboard carton, stored it in the garage and figured if they rot, she'd just throw them away.

Well, the eggs didn't rot. The moisture dries out through the shell, leaving a hardened mass inside. When you shake one of Jenny's eggs, it sounds like a maraca.

Now decorating for Easter represents a walk down memory lane. She has dozens of eggs decorated by her grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends. She enjoys looking at the eggs, reading the names and thinking about someone who is now grown who was once a little kid in her kitchen decorating an Easter egg.

Some of the eggs have googly eyes. Some have hair. Some are painted with bunnies.

Jennie wasn't motivated by savings. But this tip can save you some money. If you save a batch of dyed eggs this year, you may never have to buy eggs and dye again. On The Cheap calculates that would save you about $200 over 40 years. Jennie only has nine more years to go. The rest of us have some catching up to do.

You can see Jennie's eggs in a video at http://www.mcall.com/onthehcheap.

Jennie's not the only Lehigh Valley resident hoarding Easter eggs. When we first shared her tip four years ago, we heard from Terry Weida in Catasauqua, who had the very first Easter eggs her mother made for her and her sister more than 50 years ago. She had the original plastic grass, too.

Last week, we asked readers for tips about what grade-school art teacher Jaime Bloss could do with some cardboard tubes she has in her collection of trash to be used as art supplies. As usual, cheapsters came through.

Jane Hoh, a teacher at Moore Elementary in Bath, said she had her students use cardboard tubes to make totem poles when she taught them about Native American culture.

"Cover the outside with construction paper and the kids can put the different stories on the poles," Jane said.

Roxanne White of Allentown, who used to be an activities assistant at a nursing home, suggested using them to make palm trees.

"We just cut out construction paper and used those for the palms and we used cylinders for the trunks of the trees," Roxanne said.